Clutch.



C. (3. RICH.

CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.9.191|.

lgl. Patented ont. 12, 1915.

2 sHEETs-sHET'L C. C. RICH.

auch.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9, 19H.

Patented Got, i2, 12H5,

2 SHFETS- SHEET 2.

Calvi/humus v sion of the fluid' against the CHARLES UETTED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

CLAYTON RICH, OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE HYDRO- KINETIC TRANSMISSION COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F MAINE.`

CLUTCH.

Patented oct. v1a, 1915.

Application filed October 9, 1911. Serial No. 653,631.'

To all 'whom/t may concern:

Be itknown that I, CHARLES CLAYTON RICH, citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Vernon, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Clutches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in clutches of the iiuid type, and the invention has for its primary object a simple, construction of device of this character which will be composed of comparatively few parts that may be easily manufactured and assembled and which will be efficient in operation to transmit powery from a' drive shaft to a driven shaft` to rotate the latter within a wide range o f gradations of speedvv from the lowest to the highest of which the engine rotating the drive shaft is capable..

The invention also has for one of lts main objects to provide a clutch of the type above specified which will be compact and not liable to get out of order, the device embodying` a rotor casing for the rotor devoid of inlet and outlet ports, and means whereby at one limit of movement of the rotor. in the casing, longitudinally of the driven shaft that carries the rotor, there will be a space for the free circulation of the fluid between one face of the rotoi and the adjoining face 'of the casing, the longitudinal movement of 'the rotor toward such face constricting such space and gradually increasing the compresthe rotor blades, whereby the movement of the drive shaft will be gradually picked up by 'the driven lshaft until the two shafts are rotatin at the saine speed.

The invention also has for an object the provision of a clutch of this type so designedV that the rotor casing may, if desiired`,.be bolted or otherwise secured directly to a webbed fly wheel which will in that event constitute one of thc heads of the casing in which the rotor is mounted, the device in this regard being especially applicable for use in connection with automobiles vand other motordriven vehicles.

' The inventionV also has for one of its objects an improved clutch of the fluid type in which the parts are so arranged that after the rotor and `its shaft have been shifted longitudinally inv a direction t0 hydraulidurable and etlicient.

active faces 'ofv de -a cally connect the rotor casing and rotor, the shaft may be continued in such movement independent of the rotor to bring into interengagement-jaws that are carried by the casing and shaft, respectively, so as to mechanically connect the drive and driven shafts directly together, thereby entirely relieving the rotor and rotor casing of the stress of transmission ofvpower.

.With these and ,other objects in view, asl will more fully appear as the description.

proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinationsof the parts as I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For full understanding of the invention,

reference is to be had tothe accompanyingl drawings in whichj,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a clutch embodying the improvements of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a similar viewA showingthe use of the enginey wheel as onev of the heads of the casing for the rotor, the driven Shaft in Fig. 2 being shown 1n a different position from the driven shaft in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionalv view of the device, the section being taken approximately on`the line 3-3 of Fig.'1. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the gates of the motor; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one embodiment of one of the jaws designed to directly and mechanically connect the drive and driven shafts; Fig. 6.

is a similar view of the complementary jaw, and Fig. 7 'is a detail perspective viewv of the rotor and'two of its gates, shown detached therefrom and in juxtaposition thereto.

Corresponding parts are designated by like characters of reference throughout the several views. l

In that embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. l, the numeral 1 designates a .rotor 'casing which 'is 'preferably provided with lugs 2 whereby it may be bolted or lotherwise secured to a driving element,

either directly or indirectly, the` casing 1 rotating with the shaft and constituting'part of the rotary driving element of the device.

3 designates the driven shaft, which is preferably, although not necessarily, extended to and journaled in the' casing headl 4, a. ball bearing 5 being preferably lprovided for said shaft. In the present instance, the driven shaft 3 is splined in theinner racevinci. preremb i is formed o i., fling; ei

L igea; il, eli poeleting prevented the ease of operation oi' the iotoi: in. its longitniiinal movement is insnreti.. f

The rotor 8 Carries (iesired .number of l2, there being four of flies/e in the sentlemboilnient tl idf-ing mounted for l ment in emi recesses ,P eferzibiy, each l l is iorniefl on ,um s enter with a, recess ifi; .meiging into tne front or pressure of the gate, es 'best illustrated in Where the direction of rotation is inne-atedby en :ti-row, and each of seid recesses le eenininnieetes with the. inner edge ol' the ,ginie by ineen@ of rziiolly extending openings i5. Helical si ings i@ are boel; the gates i2, tending to press tha-n out- ,siii-Cil* against 'the wall tbe easing i. providing the .eecesses il. and openings l5 it ineniiest that the outward pressure oi the gutes-on the wail of the casing may .be properly balanced, so :is to avoid ezines ive weer,

@rettet-iin y rounded ribs l? lioinwd on the on. of the gates being` ofsntib cient tlnelzness to prevent leakage lit these `minted within the easing l :incl nbutt'.

:against the rotor tw 'on the side thereofv taint from the ehmnber i, .is et plate #l which entnely nee noni iigni tonnection with e casing, being minable oi both il long1- i ndinzil and n rotary movement. .'lhe (liek erzibly iii-ong; f, plate i8, :ind :i eoileoi expansie-inspiring ZO ie mounted. in the casing l incl beni-s against the outer fece of the digli' l), the inner entf. of' said sgring being' preferably seated in an :zni'nllnr groove formed in suoli face, as imiiea'ted at 2 The outer of the spring 2O reacts against they ezisy; heini the latter being provided withz etntiing box, as shown. The tension of the ring 120 upon the disk il? and plete i8 is :i 4lirectii to nieve the rotor towmfcl the 'ifo nieve the rotor in the .:pposite :any eet-"nati ileviee beer i: shipper lever, the yoke of -eri it 23, en ing a lgyoovefl .J beers against the outer oi? the pref-v tween;

collar 24 forme on or secured toftliedriven shaft 3.

Mounted. for iongitntiimil movement in the elizunber 9 ol. the rotor 8 is :It jaw 25 which is preferably formed integral with the tiriven'slnilit 3, although it is to be understood tlnlt it may be secured thereto in my desired iv-ity. This jaw is formed with any desired number of inid dispieeexnent openings 26 and is designed for interlocking engagement with :i eoniplemental jaw formed on or secured in any desired way to the head el of the easing. lln the present instance, this interlocking engagement is efiected by lugst formed on the jaw and designed to slip in between corresponding lugs 2!) formed on the jaw 27. 'hen these two iiws are in engagement with each other, the thriving element and driven shaft will, :is is manifest, be ciireetly and mechanically connected.

Any number und shape of interlocking lugs 28 undli nnty bev employed, and, in fact, it .is within the purview of my invention to forni the two jaws in various ways, just so 'long` es they capable of interlocking when one is moved into engagement with ythe othern In. describing the operation. of my im proved clutch, attention is first directed to the fact that the longitudinally movable driven shaft 3 is capable oi' i1 limited longitudinal movement independent of the rotor In the relative position oi' the parts illustrated in. Fig. 2, the said shaft 3 has been moved to the lelit to the limit of its Inoveinent in that direction as to eli'ect the engagement of the jews and 2i", vthere being e direct mechanical connection between the rotary element :incl the driven shaft. 1n the movement to release the clutch. against the tension'oll the expansion spring` 20, the initial movement of the parts will result in a longitudinal movement of the shaft 3 by itself, until the jaw .25 reaches the inner end of the einnnber i), whereupon the movement of the Shaft 3 in that direction will be in con'ipanied by n eorrespoxnling movement of the rotor of, which will recede 'from tinl bez-l il of the casing'. *he plate lbeing pressed oacliwf'erdly in an evident nmnner. This incitement of the rotor, is is evident, will produce a Space between the heini i. of the Casingand the adjoining side of the rotor, in. which space the fluid. will be entirely free lo circulate, whereby at the extremelinlit of corporated, be coasting.

will/'not `be imparted tothe# y the latter zexnalningffstii'" sol We will now assume that the clutch has been thrown out and that it is desired .to transmit the movement of the rotary element to the driven shaft. To accomplish this, it is only necessary to gradually re-l lease the foot pedal or the like with which devices of this character are ordinarily provided, whereupon the spring 2O will be permitted to act against the disk 19 and plate 18 to move the rotor 8 forward or to the left, as viewed in Figs. l and 2, the space between the head 4 and adjoining face of the rotor being gradually constricted and the liquid being thereby compelled to move between the inner wall of the casing l and the gates of the'rotor eccentrically mount ed in said casing, the rotary motion of the driven' element being thereby gradually picked uup by the rotor and transmitted thereby to the driven shaft. When the parts are in the position illustrated in Fig.'1, with the rotor abutting against the head 4, it is obvious that the parts will be hydraulically connectedi and that the driven shaft will be compelled to rotate at substantially "f the same speed as the driving element. At

Ithis point, it will be understood that a continued movement of the shaft 3. toward the left is possible, such independent movement eiecting the interengagement of the jaws 25 driven shaft, a rotor mounted thereon, a Cas- As set forth at the outset of the speciication, I propose 1n some instances,'espe cially in the use of the invention inconnection with motor vehicles, to employ the 4ily wheel of the internal combustion engine as one head' of the casing l-that head whichv .corresponds to the head 4 before mentioned.

This arrangement of parts is villustrated in Fig. 2, where 4iL designates the webbed fly wheel to which the casing 1 is connected by bolts 1uA `tliiougl'i theflangesZ. In this View 3a designates the drive shaft, on the end of which the liy wheel 4a is mounted.

From the foregoing description in lconnection with the accompanyingr drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a very compact, strong and efficient fluid pressure clutch in which there are no specially delined inlet and outlet ports leading to ya race -way and to the rotor, or any means for partially or completely cutting oil' communication between such ports and the raceway, such as are provided inmy prior pat ing in after the driven shaft has been hydraulically -connected to the rotary driving element, a

continued independent movement of said shaft can directly and mechanically con-A the casing, whether such head be the fly wheel of the engine orv a separate part, is protected against torsional strains, and wherein the gates of the rotor may be properly balanced so as to avoid excessive wear. It is, of course, to be understood that the casing l will be provided with suitable feeding and drain plugs, the same being omitted from the drawings, as they are merely me-4 chanical features and not necessary to a full understanding of the invention; but in this connection it may be remarked that it is not necessary for the casing to be entirely filled with oil or other fluid medium, for the reasonthat even though it should not be, 'quite full, the centrifugal action of the rapidly rotating parts will carry the fluid medium outwardly into its proper operative zone, and thereby render the device just as eilicient as if the casing were entirely filled.

Having thus'described the invention,what

l is claimed as new is:

l. A fluid pressure clutch, including a ing in which,Y the rotor is eccentrically mounted and movable longitudinally, the line of. shaft being considered, and means for moving said rotor toward and away from one head of the casing to compress the fluid between the circular wall of the casing and the rotor,I upon the movement of the rotor longitudinally inone direction and to provide a free space for the circulation of the fluid between said head and the adjoining face of the rotor upon the longitudinal movement of the rotorv `in the opposite direction.

2. A luid pressure clutch including a driven shaft, a rotor movable longitudinally thereon but compelled to turn therewith, the shaft being longitudinally" movable, a caswhich the rotor is mounted, means tending to move the rotor in one direction in the casing, a jaw carried by the casing, and a jaw carried by the shaft., the shaft being movable independently of the rotor in a longitudinal direction to effect the engagement of the two jaws.

3. A fluid pressure clutch including a` hydrauliczfily connect the rotor and casing;

and meansmwhereby a movement of the shaft longitudinally independent of the rotor will subsequently mechanically connect said shaft and casing.

4. In a clutch of the character described,

the combination of a longitudinally movable' driven shaft, a rotor mounted on said shaft,

means for moving the rotor in av direction to hydranli 'ally connect the casing and rotor,

` a, jaw carried by the casing', and a complemental jaw carried by the shaft and mounted for movement in said chamber, for the purpose specified.

6. A fluid pressure clutch including a driven shaft, a. rotor splined thereon, a cas-l ing in which the rotor is mounted, a plate abutting against one side of the rotor., a spring mounted in the casing and exerting its tension to move the plate .and rotor longitudinally of the driven shaft in a direction to hydraulically connect the casing and rotor, a jaw carried by the casing, and a jaw carried by the shaft and adapted to engage with the casing' jaw upon the longitudinal movement of the driven shaft in one dir'ection independently oi the rotor.

7, A fluid pressure clutch including a driven shaft, a casing in 'which said shaft is journaled at one ond and in which it is longitudinally movable, a rotor mounted in the casing; and movable` therein longitudinally of the shaft both with the shaft and independently thereof, means acting: against 'the rotor to move the same. longitudinall;7 in a casing. I

8. A fluid pressure clutch comprising; a. casing, a rotor mounted in. said casing and provided with a centrally disposed chamber opening toward one head of the casing, a

relative thereto, there being a Huid medium between the two clutch members, said hollow clutch member being longitudinally movable bodily within thev second named clutch member, and means for moving the interior clutch member longitudinally relative to the outer clutch member to reduce the distance between -adjacent end faces of the two members and thereby compress the fluid medium to cause a common rotation of the members.

l0. A fluid pressure clutch including a driven shaft, a hollow clutch member mounted thereon, the shaft having." longitudinal movement relative to the clutch member for a. predetermined distance but engaging said clutch member to retract it after the shaft has moved outward a predetermined dis'- tance, a. clutch member embodying a casing and inclosing the first named clutch member and eccentrically arranged relative thereto, the first named clutch member having 'outwardly pressed blades engaging the walls 0f the second named clutch member,.tl1e'rst named clutch' member havingr means constantly urging the first named clutch member toward the end wall of the second named clutch member, and means on the. shaft engagneabley with the first named clutch member to shift it .outward and away from said wall upon a. retraction of the Shaft.

In testimony whereof I my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' CHARLES CLAYTON RIGH- [L. 8.] Viitnesses: e

W. N. lVoonsoN,

FREDERICK S. Srrr'r. 

